Gentle Giant of the Snow
by Empress Akitla
Summary: When little Peaches goes missing, an unusual creature finds her and shelters her for a while. But after giving her back to Ellie and Manny, this gentle giant crashes through the ice to a world only to be helped by a certain insane weasel...
1. Breaking the Ice

**So...this was an idea that popped into my head a while ago. I was going through my older stories and found this one and wanted to continue writing it. Yes, I did have this story up on this site earlier but I decided to update it. Please enjoy!**

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**"If we don't find Peaches, I'm gonna kill you," Manny yelled, making the sloth cower.

"It's not my fault! I tripped, looked back, and she was gone," Sid defended.

Ellie and her two 'brothers' were right behind Manny and Sid while Diego was following a scent trail ahead of them.

"And I thought you two were helping Diego and Sid watch her," Ellie glared at the two possums on her tusks.

"Well, we shot some pebbles at Diego…" Crash lowered his head.

"And, well…he started chasing us," Eddie finished.

Ellie mumbled something under her breath. She was angered by the possums' stupidity and deeply worried about her only daughter, who was only about a month old.

In a thick forest lining a great clearing whipped by wind and snow, a white creature moved silently through the trees. It was nearly seventy feet long, with a snow white pelt and light silver scales on its underbelly. Though it was long, it was relatively short, its head being only about ten feet off the ground. A light blue furry crest ran the entire length of its body while it had the same color of fur under its chin, around its lower jaw, and on the back of all four legs. The fur under its eyes was also light blue as was the fur around the tips of its ears. Its gentle eyes were silvery blue. Long, gray deer like antlers stretched from behind its long, slender ears. On each side of its slender snout sprouted one long, thick whisker that curled at the end. Its sweeping tail was covered in the light blue fur. Small white fangs poked out from its upper lip. The creature was mighty indeed, for it is what the modern day world would call a Lung Dragon.

Out in the field of white, a little baby mammoth stood shivering. She was not used to such cold, fierce winds mixed with stinging snow. The mammoth wailed, but her voice was lost in the winds, except for the faint part that reached the ears of the slender creature slinking through the forest.

The creature stopped in the snow, only hearing the wind howling above the trees. Then it heard the small cry again. The wise, old dragon could tell it was coming from a desperate animal. It edged closer to the edge of the trees. It strained to see what was trapped in the blizzard. There it was. A small brown dot hunkered down in the snow. The dragon stepped out from the cover of the trees. Wind stung its eyes while its thick fur kept it well protected. Slowly, it slinked forward towards the brown dot. As it got closer, it could tell it was a little mammoth, probably only a month or so old. It was shivering terribly and ice was forming on its tiny tusks. Instantly, the dragon felt a pain in his heart for the little one.

"Come young one," the dragon said kindly.

Peaches looked up and was spooked by the serpentine dragon. At first glance he reminded her of the great, white beast under the ice. But after a while she saw his kind eyes. She curled up under his softly furred front legs.

"Let's get you out of the wind, little one," the great creature slid his clawed, five fingered paw under the little mammoth and picked her up with little effort. Slowly he slinked back into the safety of the trees.

About half a mile away, the odd herd had arrived at the end of the trees.

"Woe," Diego looked out into the blistering wind and snow. There was no way he could follow her scent through that.

"What now?" Eddie asked as he and his brother looked out at the plain of white.

Ellie sighed and looked down the line of trees. For a split second she thought she saw something move. Then she saw it again. The white stood out against the brown bark of the trees. It was moving slowly, looking like it had a limp.

"Over there, look!" Ellie pointed with her trunk to the creature about half a mile away from them.

"Hey, maybe that thing's seen her!" Sid suggested, hoping that the creature had and that he wouldn't get his hide tore off by Manny.

"C'mon!" Diego took off full blast with the others following close behind.

The dragon tilted its long ears to the right. It sounded like a bunch of creatures were running straight for it. He could tell how big each of them was by the faint vibrations he could feel through his three feet on the ground. Two large creatures, a light boned creature, a smaller creature, and two really small rodents.

Diego skidded to a halt. Sid, Crash, and Eddie slid into him while Ellie collided into Manny. They all looked up at the slender creature. He was an odd sight yet had such a beauty to his design and coloration.

"Um…" Diego paused, not knowing what to say.

"Have you seen a baby mammoth?" Ellie asked as she stepped towards the dragon.

He looked down at the mammoth that was about three feet shorter than him. She had a golden, peachy coloration. Very odd for a mammoth, but it matched the baby he was holding against his chest. Slowly he revealed the tiny mammoth and set her on the ground.

"Peaches!" Ellie and Manny wrapped their trunks around their baby.

The old dragon smiled a little then started to walk back through the trees. His furry tail brushed against the baby as he walked passed. Peaches cooed and reached her trunk up to the massive creature. The dragon turned and chuckled quietly then kept on walking.

"Thank you," one of the mammoths called to him. He couldn't tell which one it was; he was too lost in his own thoughts. That was the first time in years that he'd come in contact with another animal besides a fish which he ate often.

"Hey, wait up!" one of the mammals called.

The dragon stopped and turned his head. The possums and saber-tooth were chasing after him.

"Hey, dude, what are you?" Crash asked quite bluntly.

"A dragon," the creature answered and started to walk again.

"What's your name?" Diego asked as he ran up beside him.

The dragon lowered his head rather quickly, spooking the three. His ears were laid back and his eyes had less of a kind emotion in them.

"My name means nothing to you," he lifted his head, shook his neck, and continued walking.

Diego and the brothers were left standing rather dumbfounded. But the two possums weren't going to stop until they got all the information they could about their 'niece's' rescuer.

"Hey wait!" Crash yelled as they chased after the dragon.

The dragon cursed silently and rolled his glittering eyes. But he kept on walking. Then he felt the two rodents zip up one of his back legs.

"Where are you from?" Eddie asked as he hung onto one of the dragon's antlers.

"And why won't you tell us your name?" Crash questioned.

"Where I'm from is none of your concern and you couldn't even pronounce my name in your tongue," the dragon shook his head in attempt to throw the two possums off but failed.

"You got a nickname?" Eddie hung on for dear life as the dragon bucked his head into a branch. "I'll take that as a 'no'."

The old dragon sighed and stopped by the edge of a frozen lake. He lowered his head to the ground, letting the brothers get off.

"My name cannot be known because I cannot be found," the creature whispered and stood up.

The brothers watched as the serpentine dragon walked out onto the ice carefully. They remembered when Sid walked out onto a patch of ice and fell through it into the dinosaur world.

The dragon could feel the ice creaking beneath his feet. Though he was relatively large, he was very light boned for his size, weighing only about a ton.

By now the others had gathered around the possums and watched the dragon cross the ice. They could tell that it wasn't supporting his relatively small weight very well.

"Be careful!" Ellie called.

Right then the dragon felt something hit the ice from…beneath? It felt like the ice grew really thin and cracked beneath him. As he started to fall he gripped a more solid piece of ice with his long claws.

The others watched helplessly, knowing they could do nothing. The dragon tried to get a better grip but his claws just slid off the ice. He fell down into the seemingly bottomless pit.

Down in the 'bottomless pit', creatures thought to be extinct grazed peacefully, ignoring a slightly insane weasel jumping onto to their backs. He had seen the ford break, releasing a lake of water into Lava Falls. The steam had been so great that it raised clear up to the icy ceiling of the world under the ice. That's when it got interesting. The ice had been melted away but some large creature from above had fallen through. It looked like a white snake twisting through the sky.

The dragon saw boiling lava beneath him. There were rock cliffs around it too so maybe he could twist and turn enough to land on a cliff top. He managed part of the idea. Red flashed before his eyes when his chest hit the edge of the rock. His front legs managed to get a grip on the cliff top but from his chest down dangled over the molten rock.

Buck had seen the creature fall and had a pretty good idea of where it landed. But he was quite a ways away from Lava Falls. Looking around he spotted some Pteranadons flying in and out of the Brachiosaurus' legs. He jumped onto one's back.

"Gotcha!" Buck used a vine he often carried to make makeshift reigns.

The beast screeched and scythed its head through the air but the weasel hung on through it all. He guided the flying creature towards Lava Falls, keeping an eye out for the beast.

The dragon snagged a ledge with one of his hind feet and pushed up, ignoring the roaring pain in his chest. He clawed at the dirt and rocks, managing to get the rest of himself out of danger. He laid there, his tufted tail dangling over the edge of the cliff.

"Blasted ice," the old dragon snarled and stood up but collapsed. He bent his head around to look at his chest. His once snow white fur was stained crimson from the cuts across his ribcage.

Buck spotted the white creature lying amongst some sparse trees, looking in bad shape. The Pteranadon glided down a little farther away and landed gracefully. The weasel jumped from his mount and skittered over to the beast. It was a mighty animal with gorgeous fur.

He heard the rapid footsteps of a small creature coming towards him but didn't move. He hurt too badly. His silvery blue eyes closed, his nostrils flared, and his slender ears laid back against his skull.

Buck saw the blood smeared across the creature's chest and cringed. The beast was still breathing though. Maybe he could help the creature, though he wondered if any internal damage had been done.

The dragon was startled when he felt two paws on his face. Was the weasel talking to him?

"Hey mate, wake up," the weasel patted his nose a little harsher than before.

The beast mumbled something unintelligible and cracked one of his eyes open a little.

"Hey, c'mon. Wake up for me," the weasel again said, his deep blue eye looking straight into his silvery one.

"Mmm…wake….." the dragon grumbled.

"You need to wake up a little more," the weasel chided.

"Grrr…" the reply was short and a little childish.

The weasel huffed and stood up. He brought his hand above his head and cuffed him across the face.

"I'm awake," the dragon said clearly. "Go away."

"And let you die here? And they say I'm crazy," the weasel leaned against a knife-like tooth in the ground.

"Who are you?" the white beast asked as he clenched his teeth.

"The name's Buck," the weasel flipped his knife up in the air and caught it easily. "Short for Buckminster, long for Bu."

"Funny," the dragon whispered.

"Now let me help you," Buck ordered as he got a certain look of seriousness on his face.

Instead of speaking the dragon simply moved one of his front legs away from his chest. Taking that as an 'okay' Buck dashed over and started to examine it. Being in the dinosaur world for so long he had come to know how to deal with injuries of all kinds. His eye had got infected after he'd been scratched so he knew how to deal with infection. He had also broken his arm once when he landed on it during a fight with Rudy.

"Looks nasty, but nothing too serious," Buck agilely leaped up onto the dragon's chest.

"Hey, be careful!" the dragon snorted and groaned.

"Does this hurt?" Buck started to press down on each rib, feeling whether or not it was still intact.

"Hurts…..bad….." the old dragon dug his head into the ground.

"Nothing's broken, jus' bruised," Buck concluded and jumped down. "Be right back."

The dragon watched as the weasel ran off, leaving him lying there. He hoped he'd come back, he looked like he'd make a bite-sized snack. He dug his head into the ground again. Just because he was in pain it gave him no right to take his anger out on someone trying to help him.

Buck dipped the shell in the stream and stood back up. It had been nearly a month since he had talked to anything that hadn't tried to kill him. He had scanned the beast over though. Serrated teeth, sharp claws, and eyes that followed you everywhere usually meant something was a predator but the creature's breath only smelled of fish. The weasel felt no danger.

"You're quick," the beast grumbled as Buck reappeared from the thicker trees.

"Got to learn how to be fast in this world," Buck kneeled down and dipped a wad of moss in the shell and started to gently clean the wounds on the creature's chest. "What's your name, mate?"

"I'd rather not tell you," the dragon hissed.

"It's something embarrassing like Mary or Sue," Buck teased, his blue eye glittering.

"It's Οδοντωτή προεξοχή, if you must know." the dragon answered.

Buck scrunched up his face in confusion, the name very strange on his tongue. "Got a nickname?"

"No." the dragon grunted. "Just call me Jag. But call me Mary or Sue and I will eat you."

"Sure, as long as you don't call me Bucky," the weasel replied with quick wit.

Jag grunted and closed his eyes.

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**Please don't forget to R&R! Thanks! Next chapter hopefully coming soon. :)**


	2. Similarities

**It's a short chapter but it's still a chapter. I hope to get into the _real_**** plot by the next chapter. But right now I should really be in bed and not up writing. Hope to post again soon! :)**

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**"Eddie, Crash, can you guys see anything?" Ellie called as she lowered the vines connected to the twins a little lower into the hole.

"Fiery death!" one of the twins yelled, presumably Crash.

"Uh…rocks," the other yelled.

"No, wait! I see something white!" Crash shouted, his voice raising an octave.

"Is it moving?" Diego questioned, carefully setting one of his paws on the ice.

"No," Crash replied quietly.

"But I think I see something else," Eddie called a little more excitedly. "I think it's Buck."

"Well at least we've done all we can do," Manny yanked the vines up, pulling both twins screaming out of the hole.

"Manny! That creature saved our baby and you're just going to leave him down there?" Ellie eyed her mate carefully, green eyes full of disapproval.

"We're not going down there! Besides, Buck sealed off the only way to get down there," Manny argued, leading Ellie away from the giant hole. "If Buck's down there with him, then there's a good chance that he'll be fine."

Ellie raised an eyebrow.

"Listen, that insane weasel may not be fully there," Manny waved his trunk around in a crazy motion, "but he knows what he's doing."

"I know," Ellie sighed, knowing Manny was right. "I just hope he's okay."

"If Buck's there…" Crash raised his paw.

"…then there'll be no trouble at all!" Eddie finished, earning a smack from his brother.

"Usually seems the opposite around Buck," Diego grumbled, ignoring the evil glares from the opossum brothers.

"Diego's right, though," Sid added in quietly, clicking his claws together nervously. "But he's pretty good at keeping others safe," he amended before Crash and Eddie could come any closer. "At least he saved me from Rudy and all that burning hot lava."

"You're all right," Ellie dipped her head, gathering Peaches between her front legs. "Buck attracts trouble like no one else but he's good at keeping his friends safe."

"What if the dragon doesn't become his friend?" Crash asked almost inaudibly.

The silence that spanned on was so loud that it hurt everyone's ears. What would become of the dragon if he didn't befriend the slightly insane weasel?

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Buck sat opposite of the now sleeping dragon. It was a wonder that it could sleep so peacefully in his world. Orange light was glowing softly around them, mostly from the lava but also from the dimming sunlight that was filtering down through the ice ceiling. Evening was here and night would be fast approaching. A lot of dinosaurs slept at night but there were those few, like the great white Baryonyx Rudy, that stayed up in the dark.

"Fancy that, I have another great white beast entering into my life," the weasel mumbled to himself in humor. He hummed as he used Rudy's tooth to carve a wooden sculpture of the dragon. It was something he liked to do whenever he found something interesting; it served as a memory so his crazed mind would not forget it.

"For the world's more full of weeping, than you can understand," Jag whispered as he awoke from his slumber. His silvery blue eyes were glittering as he sung two lines from the song Buck had been humming. His voice was like water flowing over pebbles, not incredibly smooth but smoother than most.

"Thought I was the only one who knew that song," Buck gave a crooked smirk, setting down his knife and carving.

"My mother taught me that song," he lifted his head and gazed towards the icy ceiling. "She used to sing it to me at night when I refused to go to sleep."

"My dad taught it to me," Buck replied, again picking up his knife and carving. "I think I was barely a month old when he started singing it to me."

"I only knew my mother for a month," Jag turned his head away.

"What happened?" Buck furrowed his brow. Once again he set aside his carving, staring expectantly at the dragon. Usually he was the one who told the stories; this would be a change for him.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Jag laid his head down, his light blue crest falling across his narrow face.

"Talking's good for ya," Buck chided, leaning back against his knife casually. "I talk about my problems all the time."

Raising a questioning brow, Jag asked, "Who do you talk to?"

"Rocks, skulls, my pineapple mate," he gazed off into space when he said this, a loving look in his deep blue eye.

"You have a pineapple for a mate?" Jag shook his head. He had suspected that this weasel was crazy but now this just confirmed it.

"An ugly pineapple, but I love her," Buck smiled.

"Okay," he looked down, suddenly wondering if he was truly safe with this weasel around. Other than the pineapple he seemed fairly sane. Deciding to change the subject he asked, "What are you doing under the ice?"

Buck's smile faded and a look of sadness came over his face. His gaze shifted from the icy ceiling to Jag. Picking up two pieces of flint, he silently lit a small tinder bundle. A thoughtful look was plastered on his face as he added twigs to the small flame until it was large enough to handle thick sticks.

"If I tell you my past you tell me yours," Buck shifted his stare from the glowing fire to the dragon.

Considering this took some time, but Jag managed to answer, "Sure."

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**Please remember to R&R! It helps me to see what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong. Thanks for reading! :)**


	3. Buck's Past

**I know, I know. It's short. Sorry for the short look into Buck's past. I actually have a better idea planned out in my head than what it came out. Working on it. Italics mean that it's in the past, okay?  
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**Jag tucked his front legs under his bandaged chest. The giant green leaves wrapped around his wounds were smooth and slimy on the underside. Buck had said that the slime prevented infection so he was going to take his word for it. Night had set in and the only light was the soft echoing orange from the lava and the small fire between him and Buck. Now, he was waiting for the weasel to start telling about his past.

Buck was sitting quietly, absent mindedly fiddling with his knife. His deep blue eye closed as he sighed. No, he really didn't want to talk about his past. The insanity that his mind had fallen into almost didn't let him remember. But he did remember it, every night in his dreams.

"I've been down here for two years," he finally spoke. "At least, that's how long I think it's been. I've lost track of time."

Jag nodded. He could easily lose track of time in a place like this too.

"I was still living with my parents when I got lost down here," he waved his knife to the wild jungle and plant life. "I had a dad, mom, sister, and a brother on the way."

"What happened to them? Why come down here when you have a real family?" Jag asked, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes.

"It's a long story," Buck huffed, stabbing the ground with his knife. "I'll tell you the short version. It began one day…"

_A young Buck dashed into a cave, carrying a small weasel on his back. Skidding to a halt he dumped the female into a heap on the sandy floor. Snowflakes blew in from outside, peppering his and his sister's fur. Her fur was a sandy color with dark stripes, mimicking the two's father. Buck's fur, however, more closely resembled his mother's._

_ "Buck! I thought you said we were going to see the sabers!" the female howled in disappointment and crossed her arms._

_ "Yeah, before the storm came in," Buck shook himself to be rid of the clinging flakes of snow._

_ "Elisabeth? Buck? Is that you?" A husky accented male voice came from deeper in the cave. _

_ "Yeah, da," Elisabeth answered as she stood and brushed sand from her fur. "Is ma here?"_

_ "Nah, she's still out," their father appeared from the dark of the cave, cleaning a shell used as a water dish. "I guess I bett'r go get her."_

_ "Nah da, Buck will go do it," Elisabeth poked her older brother in the stomach._

_ He cuffed his sister across her ear before replying, "Yeah, I'll go get 'er." _

_ "She's down by the stream, collecting shells," his father called after him as he skittered back out into the oncoming blizzard._

_ Buck shook his head in amusement. His mother was always collecting shells. Even though she was pregnant now and should be resting. The stream that ran by their den came into sight but his mother did not. He stood up straight, looking downstream and upstream. The other weasel was nowhere in sight. _

_ "Mom?" he called out hesitantly. There was no reply and he became worried. Getting down on all fours he began to scour the area. He found weasel paw prints along with the massive prints of a saber. This was not good. There should've been blood if what he was thinking was true, though._

_ Racing back to the cave he was startled to be met with the same loneliness found at the stream. His sister and father was nowhere in sight. Paw prints littered the ground, the most recent being that of a saber's. There was a bad feeling in the pit of his gut._

_ "Liz? Dad?" he called out, hoping for some answer, some noise. He was met with silence. _

_ Fear and anger flooded through him. He took off into the snowstorm, following the fast disappearing saber tracks. This was all his fault. This should have never happened. He had lead the sabers straight to his family. _

"…I followed those tracks for hours until I came to the dens where the pride lived," Buck glared at the ground where his knife was stuck. "I was right. I had lead them right to my family."

"But why blame it on yourself?" Jag raised his brows. "The sabers could have chosen any den to raid."

"Oh no, this one was my fault," Buck growled, pulling his knife from the ground. "I had a history with these sabers. The lead female and I had run into each other a few times. She wound up with a scar over her eye among a few other things."

"Revenge, then?" he asked.

"Yeah, revenge," Buck sighed, laying his knife down and unclenching his fists. "I came face to face with the pride but never saw hide or hair of her. Her mate, a rather large brute, smacked his paw across my face. I heard something snap and realized that I couldn't move my jaw. That's why I've got the under bite. It healed wrong. I ran. Ran into a cave and kept running. Before I knew it I was falling into a river that runs through this world. I've been here ever since."

"You know, losing your family wasn't entirely your fault," Jag titled his head.

"No, it was," Buck buried his head into his arms. "I should've been able to stop it."

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**Okay, I know I said the _real_ plot would pick up here but it didn't. Sorry. It will the next chapter! Promise! :)**


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